Journey to the Past
by ofhalsen
Summary: Since the death of the Reiss family, the people of Eldia have been talking: Rod's daughter, Historia, may be still alive, and her grandmother is offering a reward for her return. Ymir and Connie are looking to con the old woman with help of an amnesiac named Krista by convincing her she is the lost princess. Unfortunately for Reiner, she might be. The crossover no one asked for!


**A/N** : All chapters will be labeled by the musical soundtrack in the order they appear (or something like that) as sort of a recommendation for what to listen to alongside. You know, if you're into that kind of thing. For example, "Eldia" may be used instead of "St. Petersburg" and so forth.

Shout out to damianwaynelives on tumblr for being my beta for this story! Also, props go to aatkaw on tumblr as well for the artwork. Not quite sure how to post a picture in here... I'll drop a link at the bottom.

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Prologue

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Eldia 850

Historia was excited to be able to attend the ball her family was holding. It was not often that she was allowed to take place in all of the events thrown by her father and her step-mother. As it was, her mother was bitter and cold towards her for being "accepted" by the royal family officially, and recognized as not only the Tsar's bastard child but given the same title as her half-sister. If her mother had it her way, Historia would have been taken out back and shot.

As it was, her relationship with the rest of her kin was not the greatest, either. Her step-mother loathed her very existence, her siblings were cruel, and her father only seemed to care about her when it was necessary. The only real connection Historia held with anyone was her Nana, the Grand Duchess Marie.

The Grand Duchess had lived with them for a little while when she was much younger. Historia had been seven at the time she was given any form of official status, and for some reason her grandmother doted on her endlessly. An odd thing it was, to be the favorite child of a grandparent when the rest of her family wanted nothing to do with her. Perhaps it was because the old woman had known the child would never receive love from anyone else and took it upon herself to provide the girl with some form of affection. When they were alone, Marie would whisper to the small blonde girl that she was, in fact, her favorite but not to tell her brothers or sisters.

Before she left to return to Paradis, Historia had begged for Marie not to leave.

"Nana, take me to Paradis with you!"

"Wherever I go, you will always be with me."

Marie assured her of how much she cared for her and until the day they could be together again, she had a present for her. Wide-eyed, Historia had bounced and huddled closer as the duchess revealed an ornate green and yellow egg-shaped music box. Historia gasped at the sight, playing with her fingers to keep from grabbing it or damaging it.

"Is this for me?" She asked shyly, gently taking it as Marie continued holding it out for her. Very rarely did Historia receive presents. "Is that a jewelry box?"

With the gift, she presented a key on a fine metal string, and demonstrated how to open it. As the lid was removed, two elegant figurines twirled in a circle together while a song near and dear to Historia's heart began to play.

"It's our lullaby," Marie confirmed, smiling warmly as she brought Historia closer. "When you play it, think of an old woman who loves you so very, very much."

As the two sang together along with it, Tsar Rod stood by the doorway, forcing Historia to scowl and put the music box away. Marie placed the key around the young girl's neck, and with it a promise they would meet in Paradis one day and walk along the Pont Fritz III bridge, that had been built for her grandfather.

Historia made sure to hide the music box well (as to not have it taken away), and when she was completely alone she would take it out and listen to the music, all the while dreaming of the day she could leave the court and join her Nana. Over the years, she began being groomed for the court and was allowed to take part in small things here and there. As his reign became stressed with the threat of an uprising, her father seemed to become more lenient about letting her take part.

It was at this time, however, Historia was allowed to attend a ball for the first time in many years. She danced with her brothers when she had to and also with her sisters, who for a small time forgot their grievances toward her and they all had a wonderful time. Even her father humored her performing the same routine that they had occasionally when Historia was a little girl, and when the pictures were taken, she was allowed in the frame.

That should have been a sign that things were at an end for the Reiss family. By the third hour, an uproar had started outside the palace gates, which only grew louder as revolutionaries were allowed in. Wielding red flags and torches, the marleviks began to storm the palace. As glass broke and flames raged, the family huddled together heedless of affairs and children who should not have existed.

As they were escaping, Historia realized she was leaving behind the one object that mattered most to her: the music box. Despite the angry protest of her father, she ran back to her room to retrieve it, holding it close to her chest. It was then the lights went out, and the sounds of shots being fired echoed through the air.

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Chapter One

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" _Thank goodness for the gossip! Spasibo za splenti!  
_ _Thank goodness for the gossip that gets us through the day!  
_ _Have you heard? There's a rumor in St. Petersburg.  
_ _Have you heard what they're saying on the street?  
_ _Although the Tsar did not survive, one daughter may be still alive:  
_ _The princess Anastasia! But please do not repeat!"_ \- _**A Rumor in St. Petersburg**_

Liberio (Eldia) 860

A lone cart traveled over the uneven cobbled street as an officer waited for the general to speak. Everyone else had halted their activities, paying attention to the latest words of encouragement from the once revolutionary group. As the wagon made its way to a podium, the wooden wheels sloshed water onto the feet of the general himself, a broad shouldered blond, who simply clenched his jaw and said nothing.

The doors were opened revealing loaves of bread ready to be handed out to the citizens waiting for the appropriate time to line-up. With a nod of his head, the general made his way to the man introducing him as the soldiers around began reciting the anthem.

" _The Neva flows, a new wind blows, and soon it will be spring_!"

The chanting stopped, replaced by applause as the general took his spot. He gave a wave of acknowledgement to the crowd.

"We hear you, comrades. The revolution hears you! Together, we will form a new province, a new Marley, that will be the envy of the world." The general smirked, looking rather pleased with himself. "The Tsar's Eldia will be the people's Liberio!"

Cheers followed, mainly from those wearing uniforms. Those closer to the carts loaded with bread showed greater approval than the outskirts of the crowd. Another man stood by with a clipboard crossing off names once people received their bread.

They had made a considerable amount of progress with the common folk over the span of ten years. Everyone was now equal, as things ought to be, and the economy would begin to flourish any day now. It had to, as anything was better than the rule of an incompetent and selfish royal family. And yet, the general noticed, there still remained some opposition to the change in government. For some reason even when things were on their way to getting better there was always a group of folks that remained obstinate to change. A palace could be thrown overnight, but that didn't mean progress worked the same way.

Nearby, a young freckled woman scoffed at the sight and rolled her head lazily to a small family watching the commotion. She raised an eyebrow in challenge as she met the gaze of the eldest child.

"They can call it Liberio, but it will always be Eldia. A new name is nothing compared to its contents, not like it will fill any empty stomachs." She laughed unabashedly.

The father glared at her, forcing the woman to put her hands up and head in another direction. However, she knew she was saying what they were all thinking. On queue, the people nearby began mumbling their agreements: promises were made with little meaning to the rest of them from a new government, where with the Tsar it at least felt like everyone had a chance of doing better than the poor example being shoved down their throats of equality.

"General Braun is trying his best, but what is that going to do?"

"Be quiet! The walls have ears, do you want to be the next disappearance?"

As she hopped onto the base of a lamppost, a hand tugged at her jacket. A redhead acquainted with her pointed ahead towards the mass of people.

"Ymir, you're going to get in trouble!" At this, the woman ruffled the ginger's hair and swung around the pole. "I swear, no one starts talking until you rile them up."

"You're clearly not paying attention enough, Hannah." Hopping down, Ymir adjusted her jacket and made her way through the people. Hannah did make a point; she could practically feel the eyes of spies on her gesturing for the soldiers to start following her.

Paranoia was essential if one wanted to make it through Eldia (she'd be damned if she considered calling Liberio) and it was right for her to act in such a way. She had always operated that way and it got her this far, even with her inability to hold her snark back to herself half the time.

Sure enough, unaware to her, someone had overheard her and carried such calmly over to a soldier near the general, who simply shook his head and waved it off. There was no use causing problems right now, as it would send the wrong message. All that was muttered was to keep an eye on the street rat.

Ymir managed to make it towards the marketplace where folks were either uninterested in the poor excuse for rations or were scheduled to receive their own later. Everyone was less into complaining about living situations or the misfortune that had come about after the marleviks had overthrown the Reiss'. No, the current gossip was concerning a man who claimed to have found the graves of the royal family and dug up jewels as well as valuable information: a body had been missing.

It was interesting to think about and spurred a lot of hushed whisperings. The site should have contained nine bodies: the Tsar, Tsarina, two princes, three princesses, the not-so-secret lover and cook for the family, and the bastard child also claimed as a princess. By the size of the bodies, the youngest daughter was missing, the half-legitimate girl. Therefore, technically, there was a chance a girl with some claim to the throne was alive now and somewhere. If that was true, perhaps, there could be a Princess Historia to take back Marley for what it was supposed to be.

The woman had heard the rumor here and there before, but she hadn't heard the recent news. Apparently, the legend had made its way across the ocean to Paradis and into the ear of the Grand Duchess. They were saying the old bat would offer a considerable sum for the safe return of the princess.

She could practically see the rubles and Ymir swore her mouth began watering. A grand duchess in Paradis? Surely whatever cash she was offering was nothing to her but could change a life such as Ymir's drastically.

A familiar voice called out her name. Turning around, a panicked bald man walked by only to tap the woman's back as a signal to follow. Ymir weaved through a couple folks before walking in stride with the man. He was certainly not in a good mood, and handed over a weathered book to her as he spoke.

"They've closed another border, Ymir! We should have gotten out of Marley while we still could."

"Connie, I've been thinking…" Ymir nudged him with her elbow and the two parted for a moment to make way for some merchants. They came back together almost effortlessly and Ymir gave a jerk of her head. "I've been thinking about the princess Historia."

"Oh, not you, too, Ymir!" Connie groaned. A woman cleared her throat, and Connie pulled Ymir a bit closer. "And you call me an idiot!" He hissed.

The two made their way to a small wooden door. She knocked twice on the door, and once a window opened, Connie leaned forward to whisper the code word. As the entryway swung open, Ymir dragged the other by his arm and out another guarded door into a different street. Enthusiastically she put an arm around him in comradery and leaned in.

"It's the mystery behind it. The bastard princess Historia? She's the one that's going to help us fly out of this place, Connie. Think about it: we dress up a girl and take her to Paradis."

"Oof, can you imagine that reward." Connie managed to make eye contact with a soldier, only to shake his head and lightly punch Ymir's shoulder. "Even if we could pull it off just the two of us, we're talking a real risk here!"

Just as the two continued on their way to go back and forth between the plot, a truck loaded with simple goods drove by. One street over it stopped to make its deliveries, as another young woman swept meticulously outside a shop corner. The general meanwhile was walking by inspecting the area, head held proudly as he nodded in greeting to those that saluted or gave a small bow at his arrival.

The engine happened to backfire. The woman's eyes widened and threw herself onto the ground, screaming "No!" as she was consumed by sheer terror. The snow didn't seem to bother her as she remained huddled up, limbs quivering. Quickly, the general made his way over, bending down and offering a hand to help her up. It was quite the overreaction, and forced a lighthearted chuckle out of him.

"It was a truck backfiring, comrade, that's all it was…" Slowly she reached out and steadied herself back onto her feet. "Those days are over now, neighbor against neighbor. Nothing to be afraid of."

A few people watched in awe at the interaction, many not used to seeing the sweeter side of such a fierce looking man. The blonde woman took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"You're shaking. There's a tea shop just a few steps from here. Let me…."

"Thank you." The woman waved him off, going to pick her broom back up.

"What's your hurry?"

"I-I can't lose this job. They're not easy to come by." She went to walk off, only to hesitate as the general continued to watch her with concern. "But, thank you."

As she went back into the store she worked, the general blurted out something along the lines of being there every day. Whether that was true or not was up for debate. Regardless, his cheeks heated slightly at the realization and he cleared his throat. Once again he resumed a powerful stance and made his way down the street.

Ymir meanwhile was still trying to convince Connie of her latest scheme, with the promise of no longer forging papers or stealing goods. He seemed sold on the idea, echoing Ymir with her promises of not only being rich but out of the country. As they passed another stall swearing to sell antiques from the Reiss palace, a music box caught the eye of Ymir.

"You know, we'll need something to show the Grand Duchess to convince her we have the 'right girl'. How much is that music box?"

"The music box? It's genuine Reiss, oh, I could never part with it!" Ymir dug into her coat pockets and slammed two cans of beans onto the table. The hawker took one look before tossing the music box over. "Done."

Ymir caught the music box, breathing a sigh in relief. Silently she thanked her reflexes. For a moment she fiddled with the thing, trying to get it to open, only with her luck finding it impossible. Before she could try and hand it back over, the seller had disappeared with the cans of beans and from view.

"Connie, do you believe in fairy tales?" Ymir asked, eyeing the knickknack with curiosity.

"Well, I did, once upon a time."

"The two of us are going to write our own fairy tale; one the whole world is going to believe! I mean, yeah, it's risky, but not more than usual. We'll still need papers, we'll need tickets… and, you know, a little bit of guts."

"Yeah, it's risky, **a lot** more than usual!" Connie shook his head. "With luck we won't be shot for all of this-!"

"But who else could possibly get away with this other than the two of us?" Ymir

They shared a look, and with a sigh, Connie finally gave a nod.

"I'll start spreading word of auditions for girls the best I can. The old theatre?"

Ymir separated from him with a clap on his back.

"I knew you'd back me up - we're about to pull of the biggest con in history!"

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Here's a link at least: . /d8b50ac17b6728e40fa79539f30d263d/tumblr_messaging_osrgztbbvO1rshyab_

Hope it works!

Let me know what you guys think by commenting.


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